


Philosophical Musings

by DarkDanc3r



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Gen, Secret Solenoid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 11:30:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17263451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkDanc3r/pseuds/DarkDanc3r
Summary: Thundercracker asks the hard questions.





	Philosophical Musings

**Author's Note:**

> My Secret Solenoid fill for [cornetwrites](http://cornetwrites.tumblr.com/).

The random odd question was something Marissa Faireborn was starting to get used to from the mech nominally under her watch, but this one took the cake.

“Is anime real?”

Several television screens in Thundercracker’s screen-lined aerie flickered to life (though there was always one on showing reruns of Nurse Whitney) with various examples of the cartoon-style genre in question. 

“Umm, n-” before she could finish answering, the blue mech forged forward.

“Because if it is, there is a dearth of talking animals and powered fighters defending Earth from Decepticon incursions and the odd alien attack.”

Of course Thundercracker would mention the attack where he’d lost his arm - again - to aliens who’d infiltrated the White House and wrought havoc on the capital of the United States. After an experience like that, believing anime to have some basis in reality didn’t seem so far-fetched, Marissa mused.

“These shows appear to be based in reality - though only in Japan, for some reason - and reflect your world appropriately, aside from superior technology and ‘magical girls’. If the Wraith attack had happened in Tokyo, would we have received their assistance?”

“Umm… yeah, no.” Marissa finally got her answer in while Thundercracker was focused on his television screens. She pointed to four of the shows which she recognized - even if she would never admit it to the jocks and otaku anime nuts populating the Earth Defense Force. No sense in giving them ammunition to make her seem weirder than several already thought she was for voluntarily spending time with a former Decepticon.

“Barefoot Gen.” She pointed to the screen closest to her, showing a gritty-styled anime that reflected a bombed-out Tokyo. “Based loosely off a manga - a comic book - by the same title that’s itself loosely based off the childhood experiences of the author during the bombing of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. I suppose it’s realistic enough - if a bit graphic in its depiction of what happened.” She shuddered at the image on the screen - radiation poisoning was nasty stuff. 

“Yuri! On Ice,” was on screen two. “A sort of biopic about two figure skaters and their life as they get ready for competition. About as realistic as your Nurse Whitney, in that nobody’s life is really that dramatic all of the time. Honest it’s not.” Okay, so maybe her life was turning out that way, what with being the liaison to a giant talking alien robot, but that was beside the point.

And then they got into the totally not real anime that she was honestly surprised to see the big blue mech watching. “Interviews With Monster Girls isn’t real - neither is Sailor Moon. Monsters like that aren’t real. They’re age-old myths from back when humans couldn’t explain everything about the universe, so they made up monsters to explain odd phenomenon. And ‘magical girls’ are just as fake. We’ve had this discussion about the human imagination and how not everything you watch on TV is based on reality.”

“You don’t know that.” Thundercracker pointed to the last television, showing Sailor Moon and friends defeating an enemy that looked similar to the Wraiths they’d fought a few months ago. “So maybe magical girls aren’t real, what about talking animals?” The mech's wings twitched in what was either agitation or excitement, Marissa couldn’t tell. “Buster is smart enough to speak human languages - she certainly understands enough - is she mute because she isn’t a cat?” 

Huh, he must not have gotten to any of the shows with talking dogs - there was a LOT of anime to slog through, he must have just gotten started.

“Talking animals aren’t real, that’s just humans putting human emotions and motivations and intelligence on animals. Buster is sentient, not sapient. There’s a difference. Dogs do what they’re told as much through tone of voice as because they understand what you’re saying. You could tell Buster to ‘come’ or ‘sit’ in Japanese and she’d probably do what you say because you use the same tone of voice.”

“Mmmhmm... “ Thundercracker didn’t sound the least bit believing. “Ten years ago you did not think aliens were real. For all you know, magic is real and animals talk but because you have not witnessed either of these things you think they aren’t real." 

Curse him for a semi-logical argument. "It doesn't matter. Right now magic isn't real, regardless of what those woo-woo Pagans say, Gods don't exist, and animals don't talk. It's all science, or there were aliens that showed up while we were still grubbing around in the dark and that is what ancient humans based their monsters on. I've fought aliens, and I'm talking to you. I've seen some of the science you use to get around. It's all very explainable stuff, even if a little hard for us normal folks to wrap our heads around."

"Maybe aliens did come to Earth all those years ago. That doesn't make magic any less potentially real. Or Buster's ability to talk less of a distinct possibility."

"Animals can't talk because they don't have the vocal apparatus to make human sound noises." Marissa argued with an exasperated tone.

"You're a lot like Starscream, you know that? Only believing in what you can touch. He doesn't even believe in Primus, and we have proof that Primus created us."

"Sounds more like an advanced technological species than a God, to me." 

Thundercracker made an exasperated noise of his own, and all of the television screens went dark. "Buster and I are going for a flight. Maybe she'll talk to me now that I know animals can potentially talk. You'll be jealous when I come back with what she's said to me."

"Uh huh. Have fun with that. Try not to get shot at, and let ground control know where you're going." She called to his back as the dog came running and took a flying leap into the mech's open cockpit as soon as she heard the mechanisms moving. 

Okay, so Buster was a smart dog.

That didn't mean she could talk.

**Author's Note:**

> For the record, I side more with TC - just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it isn't real. Marissa just strikes me as the atheistic sort who only believes what she can see and touch. Hope you don't mind.


End file.
